Better deal? 8800GT 512MB vs 3850 512MB

Which is a better deal?

- 8800GT 512MB @ $230
- 3850 512MB @ $176

I want the best performance/dollar. I know 8800GT is better in terms of performance, but is the price difference really worth paying for?

I just wanted a DirectX 10 card, and the cheaper ones seemed useless as far as benchmark goes on DirectX 10.

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Message edited by WiZ83 on 02-01-2008 at 08:58:00 AM

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8800Gt hands down kick's the 3850 in the nut's ....hard!

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Damn, I was about to check out at NewEgg, and the deal for $230 shipped just expired ($10 instant rebate and free shipping) midnight PST 1/31. I need to pay $246+ now to have it shipped. I'm gonna hang around for a while and see what other offers are there.

Reply to WiZ83

Both cards are perfect performance per $$$$. One thing though. The 8800GT is not DX10.1 compatable. When DX10.1 releases and it will be pretty soon you will see the ATI start blowing the doors off of the GT. Nvidia is claiming they will update all of the cards for dx10.1 but they will not be true 10.1 and will not see the insane performance boost over the current dx10 as its not true 10.1. For your money the ATI is a better buy in the end but it just depends how picky you are. That and Xfire is much more stable and reaping better benifits atm.

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Reply to jerseygamer

Where do you get these stats from Jerseygamer? Any links?

Reply to IndigoMoss

if you want the most bang for the buck on 3DMark, the 3850 is the way to go.....well that's what Futuremark says. In real world situations though, I think the 8800GT would be the way to go. However there are 3870's floating around for about 210.

Message edited by T8RR8R on 02-01-2008 at 10:37:39 AM

------------------------------ DFI DK P45 T2RS: e8400: TRUE 120: PowerColor 4870: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1066: Zalman 1000w PSU
Reply to T8RR8R

Quote :

The 8800GT is not DX10.1 compatable. When DX10.1 releases and it will be pretty soon you will see the ATI start blowing the doors off of the GT.

I reserve judgement til later this year if/when we see the 3800's performance under Vista SP1. All sounds good, but we don't know how the 3800's will do and when we will see games that are DX10.1.

Xbit recently wrote about DX10.1 for anyone interested:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/v [...] d3850.html

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Message edited by pauldh on 02-01-2008 at 05:04:05 PM

Reply to pauldh

8800 GT, but waiting for some new offers is really worth it.

Reply to Ycon

Just FYI, the 3870, not the 3850 is the 8800GT's competitor card. That being said, the 8800GT is at a fantastic price atm.

Quote :

... When DX10.1 releases and it will be pretty soon you will see the ATI start blowing the doors off of the GT. Nvidia is claiming they will update all of the cards for dx10.1 but they will not be true 10.1 and will not see the insane performance boost over the current dx10 as its not true 10.1. For your money the ATI is a better buy in the end but it just depends how picky you are. That and Xfire is much more stable and reaping better benifits atm.

That's going to be hard to backup w/o some solid benchies to provide some evidence towards their claims. I'm not against, heck, I hope they do blow DX10 cards out of the water... but someone is probably going to tear you apart for saying that.

Just wait for the fanboi flame incoming in: 5... 4... 3...

Reply to rgeist554

Ok, people, he's looking for the best performance per dollar, not the best performance. I would say that if he found a 3850 512 (most of which have a pretty decent OC going) it is going to be better per dollar than the 8800 GT 512, particularly for $70 less. If it were only $55 less, I think it would have been a little difficult to decide. Havn't seen many 3850 512 reviews out there though, so it's a little hard to say anyway.....That's pretty significant. I would think that at that differential, the 3850 512 would be a better buy.

Reply to teldar

Even though it's more expensive,I'd get the 8800GT.It outperforms the 3850 by quite a bit.It would most certianly make a difference with the newer games,including CRYSIS.Goodluck.

Dahak

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3DMARK06 10,588

Reply to Dahak

I have seen 512MB 8800GTs going for $219.99 on Newegg for the last few days. If you can't find one for around that price then I encourage you to look at an HD3870. This GIGABYTE one has a Zalman cooler and is only $210.
GIGABYTE GV-RX387512H Radeon HD 3870 512MB

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Reply to homerdog

MrsBytch wrote :

No you havent dude. There has been no 8800GT 512mb for less than $230 on Newegg EVER! Not sure where you get that info from.
Id just wait till they have another deal, with the free shipping too. I picked up a 256mb version for $208 the day it came out at the egg.
To answer your question, the 3850 is the best deal going.

Maybe not on Newegg, but take a look at this...

http://www.ncixus.com/search/?cate [...] 0&q=8800gt

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Quote :

No you havent dude. There has been no 8800GT 512mb for less than $230 on Newegg EVER! Not sure where you get that info from.
Id just wait till they have another deal, with the free shipping too. I picked up a 256mb version for $208 the day it came out at the egg.

I'm guessing he mean the 256MB or maybe any open box items that weren't clearly labeled.

Reply to rgeist554

WiZ83 wrote :

Which is a better deal?

- 8800GT 512MB @ $230
- 3850 512MB @ $176

I want the best performance/dollar. I know 8800GT is better in terms of performance, but is the price difference really worth paying for?

I just wanted a DirectX 10 card, and the cheaper ones seemed useless as far as benchmark goes on DirectX 10.

Both have excellent performance/dollar ratios. I think you should forget performance/dollar between these two because it's too close to matter, and focus on other features. For example if you want a quieter card or have an X38 motherboard get the HD 3850. If you want a faster card or have a 650i/680i motherboard get the 8800GT (or even better the 8800 GTS G92).

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Reply to aevm

MrsBytch wrote :

Quote :

Maybe not on Newegg, but take a look at this...

http://www.ncixus.com/search/?cate [...] 0&q=8800gt

Well i certainly wouldnt buy that Galaxy! The one for $228 has a $13 s+h charge. So wow, he's gonna save a whole $4, I'd rather get it at the Egg. Reliability and fast shipping and customer service are worth $4.
Rgeist 554, I agree.

I'm just saying they are coming down in price, Bytch. I guess you also don't recognize rebates? You're probably just feeling queasy that the 512mb GT is coming down to the price you paid for your underperforming 256mb GT only 30 days later.

Message edited by TurdBurglar on 02-01-2008 at 04:18:08 PM

MrsBytch wrote :

No you havent dude. There has been no 8800GT 512mb for less than $230 on Newegg EVER! Not sure where you get that info from.

I could have sworn it was $219.99, but I know it was at the most $229.99. Still a good deal if you ask me, but the price seems to have gone back up now.

Edit: And no I was not referring to a 256MB 8800GT; in fact Newegg doesn't even have any of those in stock right now.

Message edited by homerdog on 02-01-2008 at 04:23:10 PM

Reply to homerdog

Quote :

I could have sworn it was $219.99, but I know it was at the most $229.99. Still a good deal if you ask me, but the price seems to have gone back up now.

Yeah, especially compared to the $289-315 they were going for at release.

Quote :

Edit: And no I was not referring to a 256MB 8800GT; in fact Newegg doesn't even have any of those in stock right now.

That was the only GT that had been in the sub $220 range on newegg that I had seen.

Reply to rgeist554

Quote :

No you havent dude. There has been no 8800GT 512mb for less than $230 on Newegg EVER!

There have been three 512MB 8800GT for $229.99 shipped free, all for the record under $230. lol

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Reply to pauldh

Sick burn!

------------------------------ Antec Nine Hundred, Gigabyte P35-DS3R, Intel Q6600 @ 3.2 Ghz, Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme, eVGA 8800GT 512MB, G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-800 4-4-4-10, Seasonic S12 ATX 650W, Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA, 26" LCD Monitor (1900x1200), Windows XP Pr
Reply to deuce271

pauldh wrote :

Quote :

No you havent dude. There has been no 8800GT 512mb for less than $230 on Newegg EVER!

There have been three 512MB 8800GT for $229.99 shipped free, all for the record under $230. lol

Thank you! I knew I wasn't crazy :pt1cable:

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Reply to homerdog

aevm wrote :

Both have excellent performance/dollar ratios. I think you should forget performance/dollar between these two because it's too close to matter, and focus on other features. For example if you want a quieter card or have an X38 motherboard get the HD 3850. If you want a faster card or have a 650i/680i motherboard get the 8800GT (or even better the 8800 GTS G92).

I agree.

Reply to wildfire788

jerseygamer wrote :

Both cards are perfect performance per $$$$. One thing though. The 8800GT is not DX10.1 compatable. When DX10.1 releases and it will be pretty soon you will see the ATI start blowing the doors off of the GT. Nvidia is claiming they will update all of the cards for dx10.1 but they will not be true 10.1 and will not see the insane performance boost over the current dx10 as its not true 10.1. For your money the ATI is a better buy in the end but it just depends how picky you are. That and Xfire is much more stable and reaping better benifits atm.

Are you talking about Tessellation? I think even a 2600XT will blow the doors of the 9800GTX-X2 in a Tessellation benchmark. But I think it will still be at least a year until games start using this.
For now I'm happy with the 8800GT.

Reply to enewmen

What is Tessellation? Why aren't games using it? Is it part of the DirectX standard?

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Reply to aevm

aevm wrote :

What is Tessellation? Why aren't games using it? Is it part of the DirectX standard?

Tessellation is part of DX10.1. Currently DX10.1 doesn't exist. Currently even DX10 games don't use all of DX10 features. So I think it will be a long time before Tessellation is used in games.
What is Tessellation? "The concept of tessellation involves the breaking down of polygon meshes into higher poly meshes." Think of it as turning an object with 200-500 polygons into 500,000 polygons internally - this will increase polygon rendering 1000x (in theroy). I think this also involves extruding a bitmap into a fully high-detial rendered topography 3D lanscape with mountains, canyons, etc.

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Message edited by enewmen on 02-01-2008 at 07:24:59 PM

Reply to enewmen

MrsBytch wrote :

Ok you got me $229.99 is cheaper than $230 lol :kaola: I use rebates all the time by the way, but whos gonna buy that thing?? lol
Underperforming? Well I run at 1280x1024, and at that res, my card doesnt lose anything to the 512mb, check the benches, in fact my 3dmark06 scores come well above many of the similiar setups with the 512mb card. The only reason I bought the GT over the HD3870 was because the GT had the lifetime warranty.

What would that 3dmark06 score be? Graphics card warranties have never been incredibly important to me as I've never had the same one for more than a few years. I suppose if AA and AF are not important to you, 256mb of more slowly clocked vRAM would suffice. As games get more graphically advanced (we're already seeing it in Crysis) more than 256mb of vRAM is being utilized even at 1280x1024 under high texture settings. Look at this:

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/607/8/

The 256mb GT displays 15.95fps where the 512mb version displays over twice that. That tells me that it is a crippled card in graphically intense games.

enewmen wrote :

Tessellation is part of DX10.1. Currently DX10.1 doesn't exist. Currently even DX10 games don't use all of DX10 features. So I think it will be a long time before Tessellation is used in games.
What is Tessellation? "The concept of tessellation involves the breaking down of polygon meshes into higher poly meshes." Think of it as turning an object with 200-500 polygons into 500,000 polygons internally - this will increase polygon rendering 1000x (in theroy). I think this also involves extruding a bitmap into a fully high-detial rendered topography 3D lanscape with mountains, canyons, etc.

Thanks! All right, so I guess nVidia will add it too at some point, and then game companies will use it. I bet they avoid it for now because it's not portable to nVidia cards.

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Reply to aevm

jerseygamer wrote :

Both cards are perfect performance per $$$$. One thing though. The 8800GT is not DX10.1 compatable. When DX10.1 releases and it will be pretty soon you will see the ATI start blowing the doors off of the GT. Nvidia is claiming they will update all of the cards for dx10.1 but they will not be true 10.1 and will not see the insane performance boost over the current dx10 as its not true 10.1. For your money the ATI is a better buy in the end but it just depends how picky you are. That and Xfire is much more stable and reaping better benifits atm.

I thought 10.1 was just additional effects? How does having a DX10.1 card vs DX10 card perform better say in DX 10 or even 10.1?

------------------------------ The computer allows you to make mistakes faster than any other invention, with the possible exception of handguns and tequila- Mitch Ratcliffe
Reply to bildo123

aevm wrote :

Thanks! All right, so I guess nVidia will add it too at some point, and then game companies will use it. I bet they avoid it for now because it's not portable to nVidia cards.

Sounds like a DX11 type of thing....

------------------------------ The computer allows you to make mistakes faster than any other invention, with the possible exception of handguns and tequila- Mitch Ratcliffe
Reply to bildo123

Quote :

I thought 10.1 was just additional effects? How does having a DX10.1 card vs DX10 card perform better say in DX 10 or even 10.1?

It improves shaders quite a bit. I'll try to find the side-by-side comparison picture for you.

As far as performance - check out the article posted by pauldh from xbit labs. http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/v [...] html#sect0 in case you can't find it.

They basically improve rendering performance is what I'm gathering.

Message edited by rgeist554 on 02-01-2008 at 09:33:00 PM

Reply to rgeist554

TurdBurglar wrote :

http://www.ncixus.com/search/?cate [...] 0&q=8800gt

WOOT! $188.32 After Rebate ... Anyone know if Galaxy makes good card?

Reply to WiZ83

^that i wouldnt know. just make sure u get good warrenty from whatever manufacturer u getting.

n yes, the 8800GT hands down.

I jumped on the deal on Galaxy 8800GT 600MHz 512MB 1.8GHz for $228.32 + $12 - $40MIR = $200.32 from ncixus.com.

I don't know if it's a good card, but it looks good to me. The only bad reviews I read about it is that they're really loud, but some said the newer ones have a better fan which is quieter. Worse case is I'd just spend a bit on after market HSF. Hope everything goes well.

Thanks for the recommendation though.

P.S. - I wanted to jump on the 3870 X2 deal that was $378 shipped last week, but I already hit the limit on my credit card, just paid it off 2 days ago, and now they're all above $450, kinda sad. Oh well, $200 for a 8800GT 512MB sounds like a great deal to me, hopefully I won't regret it.

Now I'm thinking, Phenom 9500 or Q6600. I know Q6600 is better in terms of performance, but Phenom 9500 is cheaper, want to get the best bang for the bucks system. Read that Phenom doesn't work well on AM2 motherboards, AM2+ motherboards are a bit more expensive. Sigh ...

Reply to WiZ83

Wow, great deal. I've heard good things about the galaxy. For one it(the round cooler) should be better noise levels than the reference cooler. Two, in the [H] forums, people with that card claim they have 1.0 ns Samsung mem chips instead of the Qimondo 1.0ns most have. From what I have read the samsungs can hit higher higher speeds.

But there were complaints about NCIX, slow shipping and luck of the draw which version of the Galaxy card you get from them. (round cooler or "new version" loud square cooler). Looks like they state only the round one is shipping now.

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Message edited by pauldh on 02-05-2008 at 02:33:15 PM

Reply to pauldh

i've read that ATI is cpu dependent so if you got good cpu, then it will serve you better than nvidia.

Reply to spotless

Does Anyone know if the new 9800 series from Nvidia will be DirectX 10.1 compatable? I have a sneeking suspicion that Nvidia is not just releasing the new series to get more money but to stay ahead of the curb.....

Message edited by SpudTECH on 02-05-2008 at 03:29:20 PM

------------------------------ I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum.
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Reply to SpudTECH

That Galaxy looks like it has the same cooler that Asus is using on its EAH3850. I've used two of those recently and they are absolutely silent.

------------------------------ There is ALWAYS a drone. Exactly where, or how many drones you will encounter may vary, but that there will be at least one will not.
Reply to jtt283

By the DX10.1 games arrive, the 3800 series would be in the bottom pile next to other low-end cards like the 8800s

------------------------------ Q9400 @3.2Ghz-HD4870 512MB GDDR5-2GB DDR2-1066
"You figured it out. All new CPU's are nothing but overclocked Pentium 1's with a few bells and whistles added, ask any ol timer whose been around."

Reply to bfellow

pauldh wrote :

Quote :

The 8800GT is not DX10.1 compatable. When DX10.1 releases and it will be pretty soon you will see the ATI start blowing the doors off of the GT.

I reserve judgement til later this year if/when we see the 3800's performance under Vista SP1. All sounds good, but we don't know how the 3800's will do and when we will see games that are DX10.1.

Xbit recently wrote about DX10.1 for anyone interested:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/v [...] d3850.html

I expect the 3800s will run much better under 10.1. But only if the software is specifically written for 10.1.

Reply to enewmen

NCIX actually shipped em' really fast. Ordered 4am yesterday, received tracking in email at 2pm. Tracked it, estimate delivery on Thursday. Let's see what version I get, I'll keep you guys posted.

Reply to WiZ83

Got my rig setup, with Q6600 G0 overclocked to 3.42GHz on stock HSF @ 1.45V, eVGA 650i Ultra m/b, 4x1GB Super Talent PC2-5400 running at 1:1 at 2.1V 5-5-5-13, Raidmax 500W PSU, Seagate 7200.11 500GB, and the Galaxy 8800GT 512MB is actually really quiet. I haven't got a casing yet, I ordered the Antec Nine Hundred, but Buy.com decided to cancel my order because my credit card got rejected. Apparently I hit the $3000 limit last week ... I had to install my rig on a custom made case, made with a brand new 12"x12"x8" USPS Priority Mail box, which you can get for free from USPS.com under supplies ... I cut a bunch of holes, and installed 4x 8cm fans. My Harddrive, PSU and DVD writer is sitting on top of the box, and it's actually looking pretty slick. My Q6600 has been running Prime95 on 4 instances for the last 2.5 hours while I'm typing this out, and it's at 58C load. I suppose the Priority Mail box is pretty cool, with the 2F temperature outside, but my room's thermometer is showing 71F. I will attempt to overclock higher tomorrow if everything goes well ...

Oh 3DMark 2001 running at 38+k, and 2006 at 12.3k ... not a whole lot ... will try again tomorrow ... gonna attempt to overclock the GPU too ...

Reply to WiZ83

Your temps amaze me. Overclocked to 3.4GHz, stock retail fan, 71 degrees F room temp, and the system is in a cardbard box rather than just open like a bench setup? wow, I'd expect your core temp to be over 70 degrees? What are you using to get those temps? Core temp will give higher temps and is more accurate than speedfan. If you are using speedfan, your actual core temps may be 10-15 degrees higher, and you could be running dangerous levels.

I am only overclocking my Q 6600 G0 to 3.0 GHz at stock voltage with the retail fan. I have not a hit a wall Overclocking, but have seen the temps reported by core temp in the low 60's during crysis gaming. I'm not going to push higher than 3.0GHz on the retail fan, but may pull the mobo and put in an aftermarket fan. I have a Zalman 9500 LED I may try since it's here.

Reply to pauldh

When DX10.1 gets used 3850 will be even worse than Call of Juarez DX10 max settings.

------------------------------ Q9400 @3.2Ghz-HD4870 512MB GDDR5-2GB DDR2-1066
"You figured it out. All new CPU's are nothing but overclocked Pentium 1's with a few bells and whistles added, ask any ol timer whose been around."

Reply to bfellow

pauldh wrote :

Wow, great deal. I've heard good things about the galaxy. For one it(the round cooler) should be better noise levels than the reference cooler. Two, in the [H] forums, people with that card claim they have 1.0 ns Samsung mem chips instead of the Qimondo 1.0ns most have. From what I have read the samsungs can hit higher higher speeds.

But there were complaints about NCIX, slow shipping and luck of the draw which version of the Galaxy card you get from them. (round cooler or "new version" loud square cooler). Looks like they state only the round one is shipping now.

What's your input on the hocus pocus of the JohnnyGuru guy saying if you run your 8800GT's memory at or above 1Ghz that it will overtime destroy the chip? I was able to bench it stable at 1040 but I've been keeping it at 990...just in case..I dunno.

------------------------------ The computer allows you to make mistakes faster than any other invention, with the possible exception of handguns and tequila- Mitch Ratcliffe
Reply to bildo123

When I OC, I find the max stable speeds without artifacts and then back them off 10MHz for my max 3dmark benchmark speeds, and 20MHz or more for normal gaming. Just depends on the card and how much of an OC is needed to get things playable at the settings I desire. On the mem side I do tend to play it safe for daily use. Often I go half way between artifact speed and normal clocks and only boost that if needed. But that is just me because I want my cards to last for years getting cycled down to other systems and maybe even given away later on. If you say in 1-2 years you sell them, then you wouldn't have to play it as safe.

It's obvious that you need to keep it from artifacting anyway and knock it down a bit for daily use. If you run 1040 artifact free, then 990 is good and safe IMO. If more performance is needed, then 1000-1020 should be fine too for those situations. Obviosly everyone is different. Many here would run that at 1020 or higher all the time to get the most performance for their buck, knowing they will upgrade in a year anyway.

edit: But you should Experiment, and use fraps benchmarking of your games to see what the extra ram speed does for you. Max 3dmarks is fine, but why risk your mem running too high daily for an extra 1 fps in a game if you don't need it or don't notice the difference in gaming?

Message edited by pauldh on 02-12-2008 at 05:24:52 PM

Reply to pauldh

pauldh, the idea to it is to have a bunch of fans. Temp readings are direct from Core Temp. And did I mention that I lapped both my HSF and IHS? Took me about 4 hours to do both ... and all the way down to 2000 grit, and eventually polished it off with chrome polish, and wiped off with isopropyl alcohol. And I've been around for a while to know how to push the CPU to the limit. Used to build a bunch of systems while I was back in college to earn some extra pocket money, the last system I had was a E2180 pushed to 3.6GHz with a 965P-S3. Oh by the way, I swear by these Super Talent modules, 7th system I've built on top of them on a PC2-5400, and none failed to hit above 900MHz, the highest I've got was 1016MHz, lowest was 924MHz.